Uniform



E. CADOUS UNIFORM Filed NOV. 19, 1940 March 17, 1942 Patented Mar. 17,1942 ETED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to outer garments for women and more particularlyto a form-fitting garment such as a uniform, play suit or the like.

An object of the invention is to provide a garment of the above typewhich is neat and pleasing in appearance and which provides freedom ofmovement for the wearer.

Another object is to provide a garment of the above type which isadapted to conform to movements of the body, as required in a play suit,nurses uniform or the like.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature ofthe invention is more fully disclosed.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic ofthis invention are pointed out more particularly in the claims appendedhereto, the invention itself may be better understood by referring tothe following description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which a specic embodiment thereof has been set forth forpurposes of illustration.

In the drawing: A

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a garment embodying the presentinvention; and

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation thereof.

In the following description and in the claims certain specific termsare used for convenience in referring to various details of theinvention. These terms, however, are to be given as broad aninterpretation as the state of the art will permit.

In accordance with the present invention the` garment is provided with apair of side elastic panels made of one-way stretch material arranged tostretch horizontally and lextending in tapered width from the waistdownwardly to the hipline and upwardly toward the armholes of thegarment. The arrangement of this elastic panel is such as to allow thegarment to stretch suciently to be pulled on over the hips without theuse of fastening means. 'The panel is designed, however, so that theamount of stretch provided at each portion thereof correspondsapproximately to the stretch required for that purpose. For example, theelastic panel is widest at the waist, where the greatest amount ofstretch is required and tapers upwardly and downwardly where the garmentis larger and, accordingly, requires less stretch when pulled on overthe hips.

In addition to the above mentioned side elastic panels, I also provideelastic panels at the back and in the sleeves, which are also made ofoneway stretch material, but are arranged to stretch described.

Referring to the drawing more in detail, the invention is shown asembodied in a nurses ,uniform comprising a skirt ID, a belt II, a frontwaist panel I2 and a back waist panel I3, all of which are of the usualform and shape for agarment of this type. The skirt I0 may be split toform legsY as in a play suit, beach pajamas or the like and the termskirt is to be interpreted accordingly.

In accordance with the present invention, a

pair of elastic side panels I4 are provided at each side of the garment.The panels I4 from the belt upwardly and downwardly, being widest at thebelt and tapering downwardly to a point I5 at about the hipline andupwardly to a point I6 between the belt and the armholes. The width ofthe panels I4 corresponds in general to the amount of stretch requiredat the various porl tions of the garment. The elastic panels I4 may bemade of any light, elastic fabric having a high ratio of stretch andstrength to weight and are preferably made of a fabric similar inappearance to the remainder of the garment.

A back elastic panel20 extends from the belt II at the back to the backwaist panel I3. The

panel 20 may be made of material similar to the panels I4, but isarranged to stretch vertically. The panel 2U is provided with a pair ofwings 2I which extend upwardly at the two sides and4 terminate at thearmholes.

The lower edgev 22 of the panel 20 is attached to the edge 23 of thepanel I4. V-shaped and, in general, parallel to the lower edge 22 sothat the wings 2| are of substantially uniform width. In this way asubstantially uniform amount of stretch is provided across the entireback, thus equalizing the strain on the garment and allowing the same toaccommodate itself to various body movements.

the usual form and are attached to the panelsl I2 and I3 at the armholesin the usual manner. An elastic panel 3l is incorporated at the rearunderportion of each sleeve 30 so that it is substanvertically so as toaccommodate the usual bendtially at the back of the sleeve when the armis The upper edge 24 of the panel 20 is A pair of sleeves 30 areprovided which are ofk in raised position, as shown in Fig. 2, but isbeneath the sleeve when the arm is lowered, as shown in Fig. 1. Thepanels 3| are made of elastic material similar to the panels I4 and arearranged to stretch vertically when the arm is raised, as shown in Fig.2l. The panels 3| may be attached to the edges of the wings 2| of thepanel at the armhole and may extend along the entire length of the shortsleeve 30, tapering toward the end of the sleeve so as to provide thegreatest amount of stretch at the shoulder where the pull is thegreatest.

It will be noted that in the above described garment the panel 3|' inthe sleeve forms a continuation of the wing 2| of the panel 20 when thearm is in raised position. Consequently, any pull on the shoulder of thegarment is transmitted to a continuous elastic section extending fromthe shoulders to the waist. 'I'his permits the garment to stretch asubstantial amount so as to accommodate the same to the various bodymovements of the wearer. It also reduces the strain on the garment andmaterially increases the life thereof.

The panel 2|, being joined to the panel M, provides a continuousstretchable section from the back around to the front at the hipline andpermits'the garment at this point to stretch in both directions so as toaccommodate itself to the wearer and at the same time to take up anystrain which may be imposed thereon due to body movement.

By reason of the above construction, the garment is made form-fittingwithout being uncomfortable to wear and without restricting the usualbody movement. The garment is accordingly adapted to use Where strenuousbody movement is encountered, such as in Vplay suits, or in nursesuniforms or the like. It will be noted that the amount of elastic fabricis reduced to a minimum due to the eflicient utilization thereof. Thisreduces the cost of the garment ,inasmuch as elastic fabric is usuallyconsiderably more expensive than the cloth fabric of which the remainderof the garment is made. The elastic fabric is only utilized at the pointof greatest strain and is proportioned in accordance with the amount ofstretch which maybe required at the various parts.

While a specic embodiment of the invention has been shown for purposesof illustration, it is' to be understood that various changes andmodifications may be made therein as will readily appear to a personskilled in the art. The inventionis only to be limited in accordancewith the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An outer garment for women comprising a connected skirt portion andfront and back waist portions extending over the shoulders, an elasticpanel disposed at each side of said garment and extending from the waistline downwardly to the hipline of the garment and upwardly toward thearmhole of the garment, said elastic panels being made of light, one-waystretch elastic fabric and being arranged to stretch horizontally, saidpanels being tapered from the belt upwardly and downwardly in accordancewith the amount of stretch required at the various portions of thegarment in order to permit the same to be pulled on over the hips, aback panel of one-way stretch elastic fabric arranged to stretchvertically, said back panel extending from the belt entirely across theback and having wings extending upwardly to the armholes to the garment,the lower edge of said wings being attached to said side panels toprovide a continuous stretchable portion from the hips to the armholessuited to afford freedom of movement of the shoulders while retainingthe garment in form-fitting condition.

2. An outer garment for women comprising a connected skirt portion andfront and back waist portions extending over the shoulders, an elasticpanel disposed at each side of said garment and extending from the waistline downwardly to the hipline of the garment and upwardly toward thearmhole of the garment, said elastic panels being made of light, one-waystretch elastic fabric and being arranged to stretch horizontally, saidpanels being tapered from the belt upwardly and downwardly in accordancewith the amount of stretch required at the various portions of thegarment in order to permit the same to be pulled on, over the hips, aback panel of one-'way stretch elastic fabric arranged to stretchvertically, said back panel extending from the belt entirely across theback and having Wings extending upwardly to the armholes of the garment,the lower edge of said back panel being attached to said side panels andthe upper edge being substantially V-shaped whereby the back panel is ofsubstantially the same width throughout, sleeves secured to the frontand back waist portions at said armholes, and an elastic panel in eachof said sleeves, said last elastic panels being made of one-way stretchmaterial arranged to stretch vertically when the arm is extendedoutwardly and being positioned at the lowerrear portion of the sleevewhen the arm is thus extended, said last panels being attached to theback elastic panel at said armholes whereby a continuous verticalstretch is provided between the shoulder and the belt to permit thegarment to accommodate itself to various body positions and whereby bothvertical and horizontal stretch are provided at the side of the beltsection adapted to eliminate strain as the body is flexed and to producea form-fitting garment.

3. A garment comprising connected front and back waist portionsextending over the shoulders and body conforming restraining portions atthe waist line, a back panel of one-way stretch elastic fabric arrangedto stretch vertically, said back panel'extending from the belt entirelyacross the back and having wings extending upwardly to the armholes ofthe garmentthe upper edge of said back panel being substantiallyV-shaped whereby the back panel is of substantially the same widththroughout, sleeves secured to the front and back waist portions at saidarmholes, and an elastic panel in each of said sleeves, said lastelastic panels being made of one-way stretch material arranged tostretch vertically when the arm is extended outwardly and beingpositioned at the lower rear portion of the sleeve when the arm is thusextended, said last panels being attached to the back elastic panel atsaid armholes whereby a continuous vertical stretch is provided betweenthe shoulders and the belt to permit the garment toaccommodate itself toVarious body positions.

ESTHER CADOUS.

